iSLAND
by Twelf Bell
Summary: Watanuki and Doumeki are sent on a trip for vacation and as an apology, by the one and only witch. The trip is not what they thought it would be; how will this couple survive? Implied BL. DouWata. Updated: June 24th.
1. pREMONITION

**Title:** iSLAND**  
Author:** Twelf Bell**  
Type of Writing:** Regular**  
Summary:** Watanuki and Doumeki are sent on a trip for vacation and as an apology, by the one and only witch. The trip is not what they thought it would be; how will this couple survive? Implied BL. DouWata.**  
----Pairing: **DouWata (obviosity :3)**  
Disclaimer:** I do not own xxxHOLiC nor the characters. This is a work of fiction. I do own my lovely idea though :P

**A/N:** I suddenly got this idea when I was checking in on my little brother and he was watching Madagascar (for about the gazillionth time). I just had to start writing it immediately! Ah. To my lovely readers, my future xxxHOLiC fanfics that I have on hold right now... please wait for them. I'm sure you'll like them as much as this. I think. O__O; Uhm... enjoy! Please review. **//;SEi**

**- - - - - - - - - - - - Ch 1. pREMONITION  
**

Watanuki Kimihiro and Doumeki Shizuka had not been getting along these past days. These fights were different from the fights they had before. They were about stupid things and they did not bother to make up with each other. Kunogi Himawari was worried about them so she asked Watanuki to specifically have Yuuko-san meet with her in the park.

It was near evening. The half moon was very faint in the sky, but the outline was clear. Flowers drooped slightly, their heads hanging low in sadness of no more tanning in the sun. Cicadas tuned their songs down a notch and then finally stopped it altogether, now flying back to their homes for the night, either happy that they'd found a mate or sad because they had no luck today. Birds began going back to their nests for their dinner and to get ready for their sleep.

Himawari was waiting in the park, at the usual spot they usually had meetings at. She heard the _click-clack_ of high heels and turned her head in the direction of the footsteps. Walking toward her was Yuuko, dressed as fancily as ever and with a grin plastered onto her face. It was more like a smirk, actually.

The bad-luck girl stood up from the dragon(*) she was sitting on and smiled at Yuuko. She bowed politely and Yuuko nodded. They both sat down. Yuuko, already knowing why the girl had wanted to meet her, said, "You want to know a way to get Watanuki and Doumeki-kun to make up?"

Himawari smiled and nodded. "Yes."

Yuuko looked at the trees that were swaying in the calm summer breeze. She watched as the green leaves danced in a wavy motion, and then she focused on one leaf on one tree. It suddenly loosened itself from the branch that it had been hanging onto and then it fell slowly down. It got tangled in a breeze that was passing by and then it began descending once more. Yuuko was quiet. Himawari waited patiently for the witch's answer.

The leaf finally landed softly on the dirt ground. Yuuko's lips curled up into a smile. She looked at Himawari and said, "I've got it."

**x x x x**

Watanuki poured the curry sauce (with bits of beef in it) intentionally over the rice and sloppily, so that it went a bit off the sides of the plate. He smirked at it when he was finished and along with the three other plates of curry, he placed them on a tray and walked with it to the dining room where the gluttonous trio were waiting. He walked around the table to hand each person their plate of food, placing it gently on the table with an amused grin on his face.

When he was finished, he went to his seat and sat down, the grin still on his face. He put his hands together and said, "Itadakimasu." He picked up his spoon and began eating. After two bites, he glanced over at Doumeki. The teenager had not started eating. He was staring intently at his food. He noticed a pair of eyes on him and looked at the owner. Watanuki smiled brightly at him, his mouth twitching a few times. Doumeki's face did not change as static met with static.

Mokona, who had finished his plate of curry, jumped from the table and onto his chair. He leaned back and burped loudly, patting his belly all the while. He did not notice the electricity that was in the air, and fell into a small snooze. Yuuko was halfway through her curry when she finally had it. She put her spoon gently down on the wooden table and put her hands on her lap. Then, she said calmly, "That's enough."

Watanuki and Doumeki both turned their their heads to the spoken one, their faces still heavy with anger and resentment. But when they saw the calm fierceness in Yuuko's ruby eyes, their faces relaxed and fear began spreading. She spoke. "I do not like what is going on."

Watanuki looked away. He knew that they were acting like kids but the oaf that was sitting across from him was making him really angry. He was like a broken radio that kept talking no matter how many times it was fixed. Doumeki didn't yell but he made rude comments in return to Watanuki's yelling. Doumeki was like a speaker; quiet when plugged to nothing, but noisy when connected to something - the "something" being Watanuki's hate and words.

The bespectacled teenager hung his head and apologized. "I'm sorry..."

"Apologizing will not do anything except clear a bit of your guilt. It will not do anything to the noisy times we've endured - we, meaning Himawari, Mokona, and I."

At his name being mentioned, Mokona opened his eyes and tried to adjust to what was happening. Sleepiness still resided in his large eyes and wouldn't move out, so he yawned and fell asleep once more. Yuuko continued to stare at the two teenagers who were now regretting what they had been doing the past few days. The look on their faces were sullen now, though Doumeki's was not entirely readable.

She sighed. That caught both of the teenagers' attention and they looked at her, ready for what was to come out of her mouth. She stayed silent for a few seconds before saying, "I have a solution to your problem."

**x x x x**

Doumeki tried to squeeze another shirt into the large sports equipment bag that he was going to use as a suitcase for the trip that Yuuko had planned. _But... why a trip?_ Yuuko had said that it was "payment" for what they had gone through. Since their fights had lasted for two weeks, their trip would also be for two weeks. Thankfully, it was summer vacation, or else his parents wouldn't have let him go. Yuuko hadn't told them where they were going. She had just said it was a trip. When he told his parents that he was going on a trip with his friend, they were very enthusiastic and even suggested things to pack. Saying that Watanuki was a friend... Doumeki apologized silently in his head to his parents for lying.

He zipped the bag and lifted it onto his shoulder to see how much it weighed. It was a bit heavy because he had packed a lot of things in. A lot of things he would be needing. Things like: sunblock, CD player, a book, a lot of snacks, shirts, pants, shorts, long sleeves... and every other necessity he thought would be useful.

On the other hand, Watanuki's bag was simple. It was the size of a duffel bag and it contained a few of everything - shirts, shorts, underwear, etc. _ I could last two weeks with these. No problem._ He shoved one more thing inside and closed it. He patted it to smooth it out and placed it by his futon.

That night, Doumeki had no dreams. He was too tired by what had happened today, heavily burdened by what was to come tomorrow. But Watanuki had dreams. They were dreams of peace, but they then became horrifying and disturbing. Watanuki woke up screaming when the nightmare finally showed its true colors.

As he tried to slow his breath and calm his heart down, he looked over at the window. It was morning already. In two hours, he would need to be at Yuuko's shop. He sighed, thinking back on the nightmare. _I have a bad feeling about today..._

**o o o o**

Watanuki had eaten his breakfast in silence. He didn't have to go to Yuuko-san's to make breakfast, because she had said so the other day. Watanuki had complied gratefully. Doumeki, though, ate his breakfast with a bunch of noisy parents. They were really interested in this "friend" of his and the reason why he was going on this trip and who had asked who to go... etc. etc. He finished eating and simply said, "Gochisousama" before retreating back to his room to get his suitcase bag. He walked down the hall and to the front door. He turned to face his parents who were standing quietly with smiles on their faces. He said, "Ittekimasu" and went out the door, nodding when his parents replied with a cheerful "Itterashai".

Watanuki had no one to say "Ittekimasu" to, but he said it anyway. To his clean x2, neat x2 apartment. "I'll be back in two weeks. I promise." He bowed to no one in particular and left with no expression on his face. He locked it from the outside and turned to walk down the steps when he bumped into the landlady.

"Are you going somewhere, Watanuki-san?"

He smiled and said, "Yes. A trip. I will be back in two weeks."

She put a hand to her wrinkled face and smiled back - a real smile, unlike the ones she gave whenever they crossed paths: ones full of pity. "It's good to have fun once in a while..."

"Yes," he replied.

"Well, have fun! And stay safe."

Watanuki bowed and said, "I will."

The landlady bowed in return and Watanuki went on his way to Yuuko's shop. As he walked down the street, he thought, _I don't think I will be able to have fun... with _him_ around!_ He put on a sour face and continued walking. But then he stopped. _Stay safe... _His mind went back to his nightmare, though he couldn't really remember it much. With a nightmare on the day of the trip, it was surely a bad premonition of what was to come. He began walking again, this time with a face of a thousand thoughts.

* * *

**A/N:** End of chapter one! Hope you like it so far ^^; Well, you kinda already know where they're going (the title) and so.. yeh.

- - - -

**1 - dragon(*) =** This is a "spring rider"! If you don't know what it is, just google it :P

**2 - **I know I didn't put asterisks near them, but I'll just tell you the meanings anyway:

**~Itadakimasu =** This is what you say before you eat. It literally means "I accept" in food terms.

**~Gochisousama =** This is what you say after you eat. It means "Thank you for the food." or "I am grateful." or somewhere along those lines.

**~Ittekimasu =** This is what you say before you leave. It means "I'm leaving."

**~Itterashai = **This is what you say to the person who is leaving. It means "Have a safe trip" or somewhere along those lines.

- - - -

In the next chapter, the setting will mostly be at their destination. Do look forward to it!

**//;SEi**

**P.S.** It is rated as K+ for now but it will change for future chapters, for there _will_ be yaoi; a sweet lemon, and pure fluff.


	2. vACATION

**A/N:** HAHAHA... sorry for the late update xD Just busy with life, that's all. Well yeah, you could say that I'm lying... but... it's not my fault :( Well actually it is since the reason I stalled was because I do not know much about islands and stuff... BUT! Anyway, just enjoy.... Ah. **There's also a surprise included in this chapter! ~** Remember to review! :O **//;SEi**

**P.S.** Did you notice that I stopped the little 'label' thing at the beginning of the page? Hope it's okay...? #_#

**- - - - - - - - - - - - Ch2. vACATION**

Doumeki had arrived much earlier than Watanuki did and when Watanuki finally arrived panting from his run, he said with an edge to his voice, "Oi. You're late."

Watanuki was holding himself up on his knees and he replied between breaths, "Y-Yeah... I... know..." Then he yelled in frustration, "Don't call me 'oi'!"

"Oi. If you got the energy to yell, then you should have the energy to hurry up." And with that, Doumeki turned around and walked back into the store to collect his stuff.

"Grr... that bastard..." mumbled Watanuki when he finally got his breathing back in a steady pace. He followed the already-gone Doumeki and into the store in which he immediately was faced with Yuuko.

"You're late. What happened?" said a smirking lady.

"You know quite well what happened!"

"Oh really? Then so you actually stayed in bed because you were having a wonderful dream that you didn't want to wake from?"

"OF COURSE NOT!" Watanuki cried. Then he mumbled, "I had nothing but nightmares anyway..."

"Well, next time why don't you have Doumeki sleep over so that in the morning, you won't get attacked?" Yuuko said a grin.

"HELL NO!"

Yuuko laughed and then turned to walk down to the hall. "Come on now. We're having a meeting."

**o o o o**

"YOU SAID WHAT?!" yelled Watanuki. "We're going _where_?!"

"Like I said... you're going to be going to CLOW iSLAND."

_So that's where we're going. An island..._ "...Why an island?" asked Doumeki.

Yuuko grinned. "Well you see, it's the best place to..."

"To?" asked a suspicious Watanuki.

"... have fun!" finished the lady.

"Have _fun_?! Oh no no no, I don't think so," said Watanuki, shaking his head. "With _him_," He pointed at Doumeki, "I can never have fun. No way."

"No way, you say, but it'll be fun! I promise you," said Yuuko, putting on her best brightest smile.

**x x x x**

"YOU SAID WHAT?!" yelled Watanuki. "We're going there in a _what_?!"

"Like I said... we're going to be going there in a helicopter." Yuuko sighed. "Gee Watanuki, can't you take in these things more easily?"

_A helicopter..._ "...Why can't we just go there in an airplane?"

Yuuko grinned. "Well you see, we can't go there on an airplane..."

"Why not?" asked a suspicious Watanuki.

"... because it's not on any map!"

Doumeki and Watanuki stared at Yuuko who was sitting in the front seat of the taxi, with Mokona staying very still on her lap. The taxi driver looked at their dumbfounded faces through the rear-view mirror and shook his head. He himself did not believe that wherever they were going was not on any map. Almost everything was on a map... except ghost islands or islands not yet explored... But still, it was odd enough this groups' desired destination was somewhere he didn't think of as a _place_.

"W-What do you mean it's not on any map?" asked Watanuki, finally getting back to his senses.

Yuuko giggled. "You'll see."

The drive went on in silence. When they got to their destination and Yuuko payed the fare, she said to them with a smirk, "I have a surprise for you, too."

**o o o o**

"What is this place?" asked Watanuki.

"A deserted place."

"I CAN SEE THAT, _THANK YOU_ _VERY MUCH_, DOUMEKI."

"...All I did was _answer_ your _question_. No need to be _annoying_."

"_You're_ the one who's annoying!"

Doumeki plugged his ears with his fingers as Watanuki ranted on. Yuuko grinned as they went on walking through the 'deserted place'. All they saw was either grass or sand, a few dying trees and a pond here and there. The sun felt hotter than ever here and Watanuki got tired almost immediately. He stopped to sit on a large boulder under a tree and sighed. "It's so _HOT!_"

"Then take off your sweatshirt, idiot."

"I don't want to! I'll get sunburned!"

"There's something called _sunblock lotion_, you know."

"I know! You don't need to tell me that!" said a frustrated Watanuki. "It doesn't help anyway."

"Well you should get a tan sometime because you always look like you're a walking ghost."

"It's not _my_ fault I'm this pale! No matter how long I stay out in the sun, it's the same color!" Watanuki sighed loudly and with an annoyed tone, he mumbled, "I don't even know _why_ I'm even taking my _time_ to argue with _you_ when it's _this hot_!"

They fell silent then, the only sound heard being Watanuki taking his duffel bag off his shoulders and getting out a baseball cap to wear on his already-sweaty head. Doumeki had seated himself under the tree since there was no other boulder around to sit on, and Yuuko had gotten Mokona to 'spit out' an umbrella for her to shade herself with.

Suddenly, they heard some voices. Yuuko pushed her sunglasses up her nose and smiled.

"I wonder _who_ in the world would want to be out _in the middle of nowhere_ in this _heat_," mumbled a curious Watanuki as he got up from the boulder. He adjusted the cap on his head and began walking in the direction of the voices.

"Oi. Where are you going?"

"Don't call me 'oi'!" was all Watanuki said.

Doumeki frowned and got up from his 'seat'. He brushed his jeans off before following. Yuuko kept steady the smirk on her face.

**o o o o**

"Syaoran-kun?!" exclaimed a surprised Watanuki.

"Watanuki-san? What are you doing here?"

"I should be the one asking you!"

Syaoran looked to Yuuko who gave an all-knowing smile. "I see... so we're in Japan..."

"Not in _my_ Japan," said Kurogane with a huff.

"But but _why_ are we here?" asked Fai.

"That's right," said Kurogane. "Oi, manjuu! Did you bring us back here because you were homesick?"

White Mokona cried, "Of course not! I can always talk to Yuuko whenever I want to so I'm never homesick!"

"...I can feel it..."

Everyone looked to Sakura who had her eyes closed. "It's here... in this world..."

"A feather, Sakura-hime?" asked Syaoran.

Sakura opened her eyes and said, "Yes." Then she gave a sad smile.

"Sakura-hime?"

The young brunette looked at Syaoran and said, "It's nothing..." She looked down at her hands before turning her head to Watanuki. Watanuki opened his mouth to say something but then went against it. There was nothing to say, after all. He smiled at her and Sakura smiled back, a less sad smile than before.

"Well. Let's go, shall we?" Yuuko said, shutting her umbrella and letting Mokona 'swallow' it once more.

"Eh? What do you mean? Aren't we going on a helicopter?"

"We are." Yuuko looked up at the sky. "It's here."

And with that, they heard a loud noise in the sky that sounded like sharp blades cutting the wind. Watanuki held onto his cap to keep it from flying away and squinted through the winds blowing at him. Doumeki protected himself from the dust flying around with his arms and didn't dare open his eyes. Kurogane unconsciously covered Fai with his body and Sakura held W. Mokona tightly with Syaoran carefully protecting her. Yuuko stood her ground, smiling, with B. Mokona in her arms.

When the dust winds died down, everyone brushed themselves off – all except Yuuko, in which the dust did not effect. The Tsubasa group looked at the helicopter and gasped – even Kurogane. It was something that they had never seen before. It was so amazingly new and foreign that when the rotor blades slowed and a door opened, Kurogane immediately held onto his sword. Fai also tensed, getting ready to protect the younger two if needed, though Syaoran had already been protecting Sakura from the start (ever since the helicopter sounds were heard).

Watanuki observed that the helicopter had a name: _Suzuki Co._ * He shivered. He didn't know why, but it felt like another one of his premonitions. He held himself despite the growing heat and watched as someone with a helmet on came out of the helicopter. Even when the dust dispersed, the group were unable to see the man's face. He had a glass protector connected to his helmet to shade his face after all. ** Even if they couldn't see his face, the group knew that they wouldn't know him.

All except Yuuko, that is, for she walked up to him and said, "Daisuke-kun! Nice to see you again! How is Suzuki-san?"

"Yuuko-sama," replied the man. He took off his helmet, revealing a handsome young man's face. He had clear dark-brown eyes and midnight-purple/black hair. He politely said, "Suzuki-sama is doing very well, thank you for your concern, Yuuko-sama" and bowed.

The witch smiled and said, "That's good." Then, she turned to the others who were still in the same places they were in before and called to them; "Come on over and meet Daisuke-kun!"

They all hesitated before Watanuki took up his courage and went over to where she and the pilot were standing. The others followed him and in no time, the helicopter had an arc of people on one side.

"This is Daisuke-kun, the butler of a great acquaintance of mine."

_Well that _great acquaintance_ must be rich since he's got a _butler... _and a _helicopter_ at that,_ thought Watanuki. _Yuuko-san's friends uh... acquaintances are really complicated, eh?_

"It's very nice to meet you all," said Daisuke with a bow.

Watanuki bowed as well, for his manners got the best of him. "It's nice to meet you too, Daisuke-san."

The others did the same and Daisuke finished with a polite nod. Then he said, "If I may interrupt, shall we get going now, Yuuko-sama?"

"Of course!"

Daisuke gave the same polite nod as before and entered the helicopter. He went to start the helicopter up at the pilot's seat and before they knew it, the helicopter's propellers began spinning slowly but then it became more frantic until all you could see was a circle. Watanuki held onto his cap again though the winds were as bad as from far back. Yuuko yelled over the loud noise, "Everyone get in!"

"Eh?! Syaoran and the others, too?!" said Watanuki in as loud as a voice as he could manage.

"That's right!" she responded, and she disappeared into the helicopter.

Watanuki looked at Syaoran who seemed a bit scared but then said (or tried to say, over the helicopter's whirring noises), "It's alright! This is my first time on a helicopter too!"

Syaoran gave a smile then and nodded. He said to Sakura, "Are you alright, Sakura-hime?"

"Yes."

"Then shall we go?"

She nodded. The two went over to the helicopter and got in, Syaoran carefully helping the girl get safely inside. Kurogane followed, his hand still on his sword, and Fai trailed behind with less of a tense expression but an excited grin plastered on his face. Doumeki also began his way and before entering the loud machine, he turned to Watanuki and asked in a loud voice, "Oi! Are you getting in or not?"

Watanuki, though surprised at Doumeki's turn-back despite the rift in their relationship, hesitated and stayed where he was, for fear of what would happen when they got to the island. His premonitions the night before kept him firmly on the ground. "I..."

Doumeki didn't hear him but saw his hesitation and got pissed. He went over to Watanuki and dragged him towards the helicopter. Watanuki tried to pry Doumeki's firm hand at his arm off and complained, but when Doumeki securely got Watanuki in the helicopter, he complied and sat down.

Doumeki turned around to close the door but at that exact moment, Watanuki took his hand away from his head and the cap flew off his head. The door was tightly closed then and Daisuke had the helicopter go into hover.

Watanuki went to the small window on the door and cried, "My cap!"

The blue baseball cap flew in circles before gently touching the ground just as the helicopter disappeared into the sky, leaving a calm and peaceful desert.

* * *

**A/N:** Whoa. Totally unexpected, eh? And here's another surprise for you!:

**I'm going to be writing a KuroFai fic soon!** I had planned it waaaay earlier, dedicated to my very good friend who is a KuroFai fan ;)

Anyway. The helicopter. I had to look it up just to understand everything ;__; I really have never been on a helicopter before, nor have I ever really seen one WAY UP CLOSE. Yes, I've been enclosed in a box my whole life...

Hm. Seems like Doumeki is really excited on going on this trip, eh? xD

So. Anyway. **Please review!** Next chapter is going to be up in NO TIME AT ALL~! :D  
~ I actually had finished three chapters just for you, since you've waited long enough just for this one ^^;

**Next Chapter Post Date:** 12/14/09.

**Listening To:** Intuition – Jewel  
~ this song gives a lot of words that I can use as chapter titles! XD

**- - - -**

**1 – _Suzuki Co_**_._ **(*)** = Heheheh... if you guys read **Can't You Chu?** , you may notice that the name seems familiar, yes? Andd so you would kind of understand who the employer of Daisuke is, hm? :3

**2 – Glass protector on helmet (**) =** LOL. Think of Lelouch's (Code Geass) helmet. It's something similar to that x)

- - - -

**BY THE WAY!**  
Daisuke is going to be a very important character from now on ~ especially with the well-known fact that he is the pilot. Being the pilot in _this kind of story_ is _very_ important +_+ **//;SEi**


	3. dIRECTION

**A/N:** Woo-hoo! Update! That wasn't so bad right? The wait, I mean. Being patient really cuts it, eh? ~ Anyway, please enjoy ;) **//;SEi**

**P.S.** The numbers in parentheses (#) is a notation in which you can read an explanation or so at the end of the chapter. Asterisks is kinda annoying when it goes up to 8 or so, you know? I mean like... ********. HUGE. Anyway. **PLEASE DO READ** the notations. They're kinda important. I mean... they're important.** My AFTER-STORY A/N is also VERY IMPORTANT.**

**- - - - - - - - - - - - Ch3. dIRECTION**

"Damn you, Doumeki..." mumbled Watanuki. He was still very annoyed about losing his cap, especially since he didn't have any other form of protection from the UV rays that the sun poked him with, other than the sunblock lotion he had brought. He hadn't even thought of bringing an umbrella because he thought that the trip would be to a non-deserted place with _stores_ in which he could _buy_ things, such as the handy-dandy umbrella.

_If it rains, I'll just have to get wet and lose all my clothes..._ Watanuki shivered. Either it was another premonition or it was because the air conditioner suddenly came on. Watanuki looked out the small window and down at the earth below them. Even though they were so high up... he didn't feel scared at all. He usually was... especially when he had the thought of _dying_ in his mind. He turned his head back to the interior of the helicopter and at Doumeki who was eating some snacks he had brought. _Maybe..._

Doumeki's eyes were suddenly on him, a chocolate pocky stick in his mouth. "Whut."

The seer glared and yelled, "Nothing!" and looked away though he felt his cheeks burn just a bit. _Why am I thinking about him? Sheesh. The heat must be getting to me._

"Yuuko-san, where are we going?"

(1) Watanuki looked up at Syaoran and then to Yuuko, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat in the front of the helicopter. The whirring noise was not loud inside so it was possible to speak in an average voice due to the helicopter's rich structure, which was made out of a material similar to that of a sound-proof wall.

Yuuko adjusted the microphone piece that was connected to her headphone helmet and replied, "CLOW iSLAND."

Sakura immediately perked up and said, "That's my father's name... Clow Reed..." (2)

Everyone turned to the girl. "Sakura-hime's father...?" asked Syaoran.

"Yes. But no. That fact is correct though incorrect at the same time..." said Yuuko, still not facing the passengers.

"Yuuko-san?" said Watanuki, trying to pry more information out of her. But it was futile for she just turned to look back at him, as well as the rest of the group, and gave a sad smile. Then, she turned her head back to the front of the helicopter and stayed that way for the rest of the trip.

"..." Doumeki leaned against his seat, using his arms as a headrest. "She's got a lot of secrets."

"You don't need to tell me that to know," replied Watanuki, also leaning back against the helicopter seat. "She never tells us anything that we need to know. And when we do know, it's always something bad." He closed his eyes and sighed. "It's as if she's trying to protect us somehow..." He opened his eyes again and frowned. "...but I get hurt either way."

"Since you're always so clumsy and quick to action, no kidding."

"Is that _MY_ fault?! When I'm with _you_, I always get so mad that I just want to get it over with!"

"It's better that you do it carefully or else..." Doumeki's words faded.

Watanuki waited until he continued. But Doumeki had closed his eyes. _What the hell?! How rude is that? Talking to someone and then falling asleep?!_ "Or else _what_?!"

Doumeki opened his eyes and looked straight at Watanuki, surprising him for a second. "Or else you'd die and I'd have no food to eat."

The volcano in Watanuki immediately burst. "WHAT THE HELL!" He swung a fist at Doumeki. "You've got something called _parents_, you know!"

Doumeki folded his arms. "... For your information, my parents don't like to cook and yours is always better than whatever they somehow make."

"Well then why don't you just have them go to some cooking classes and--!" Watanuki cut off, for Doumeki's eyes were undoubtedly looking straight at him, and for the few seconds that passed, Watanuki finally deciphered what was said. He immediately began stuttering / yelling so as to not let Doumeki know he was embarrassed from the compliment that he gave, but Doumeki knew (for it was intentional) and he smirked. That irked Watanuki more, causing him to rant continuously on, Doumeki plugging his ears for the something-th time that day.

Syaoran couldn't help but laugh. "You both are such good friends."

"Syaoran-kun!~" Watanuki looked at Syaoran with 'pleading eyes'. Syaoran laughed again, in which also caused Sakura to laugh. Fai also joined in with the laughter, causing it to rise. Kurogane just folded his arms and "hmph"ed.

In the front seat, Yuuko smiled to herself, thinking: _They're just like the other two who fight everyday but still get along well._ She leaned back and sighed. _They need each other after all... but these two can't figure that out. If they keep fighting and never make up, then one is going to fall faster than the other._ (3)

"Yuuko-sama."

She opened her eyes and turned to Daisuke, who had just spoken. His eyes were still glued to the front, but he said, "It's time."

She grinned and said, "Alright."

**o o o o**

"Everyone, please make sure your seat belts are fastened tightly."

"Yuuko-san? What's going on?" questioned Watanuki, fumbling to check if his seatbelt was secure. The others followed his example, making sure theirs and their companions' seat belts were secure as well.

"Nothing much. It's just that we're close to our destination."

"Eh? Already? But it's only been five minutes!" He looked out the little window in the door. "I've seen nothing but land the whole time too!"

"Hehehe... you know why?"

Watanuki shook his head.

"Because now, we're going to take a shortcut!"

"A shortcut?"

Yuuko grinned and nodded to Daisuke. Daisuke nodded back and began unfastening his seatbelt.

"D-Daisuke-san?!" asked a flabbergasted Watanuki. "Wh-What are you doing?!"

Daisuke got up from his pilot's seat and smiled at Watanuki to assure him that everything was going to be okay. But Watanuki definitely was not reassured that well for Daisuke told Yuuko to take the controls and he opened the door of he helicopter and...

"Uwa uwa ~ is the pilot trying to kill himself?~" asked an amused Fai.

"Fai-san! Please stop joking," said Syaoran, who was trying to assure himself that Daisuke was not doing what Fai thought he was going to do.

A few seconds passed before the pilot-butler's head appeared. Everyone became relieved. Watanuki asked, "Daisuke-san? What are you _doing_?!"

"I'm just climbing onto the roof, Watanuki-sama."

"_JUST _climbing onto the roof?! What are you doing up there?!"

But his question could not be answered for Daisuke's head disappeared once more. So Watanuki turned to the now-pilot, Yuuko, "Yuuko-san! What is he _doing_?!"

Yuuko grinned, her red eyes sparkling, and said, "He's creating our shortcut."

"Ehh?"

Suddenly, there was a sound that meant one thing: engine failure.

"Ehehehe ~ are we going to crash?~"

"Fai-san!"

"Hey, hey, I'm bored here," said Fai, folding his arms and pouting, though for some reason, his eyes seemed very serious and alert.

They listened as the rotor / propellers slowed and then came to a stop. But somehow, Watanuki noticed, the helicopter was still up in the air. Then, Watanuki remembered something: _How is Daisuke-san up there when there's the rotor machine...?!_

Freaked by his own thought, Watanuki quickly took off his seatbelt and got up from his seat. In the pilot's seat, Yuuko smiled but shook her head. Doumeki noticed Watanuki's get-up and yelled, "Oi! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Shut up!" Watanuki went over to the open door and accidentally looked down. He gulped. _Oh God, it's so high..!! _He closed his eyes and inhaled. He exhaled and opened his eyes again, letting a breeze flow through his hair. Still holding onto the sides of the helicopter's doorway, he looked up and saw steps that Daisuke probably used to get up to the 'roof'. He turned his body around and grasped one of the steps. He stuck one foot out and in a quick movement, he pulled himself to the 'ladder'. He slowly climbed up and when he saw the non-moving propellers, he also noticed something hovering above them._Daisuke._

The butler was floating above the rotor... and there was this magic circle (4) under him that was a bit similar to Yuuko's own. But instead of the astrology signs, faces of the moon, and eye in the middle, his was similar to that of a clock, with 12 in front of him, 6 behind him, 9 to his left and 3 to his right. Between each main quarter circle, there was this symbol that Watanuki what it was, but it looked like two feathery gates in which had a sakura flower in the middle. The outline of the circle was similar to that of a ruler, but the exact measurement... Watanuki couldn't figure out for it just looked like lines. The magic circle itself looked like a ferris wheel, with lines going this way and that, and with pearl-like 'carriages' at the ends. In the middle of the circle, there was what Watanuki thought were music notes connected to the rays of an unfamiliar star. The hour hand of the circle slowly moved, but the minute hand moved in haste around the clock. The hour hand was currently at 6... 7... 8...

"Daisuke-san!"

The second the butler opened his eyes, the hour hand and minute hand stopped. The helicopter also made a jolt, causing Watanuki to lose a bit of his grip and the passengers inside to cry out a bit.

"Watanuki-sama." Daisuke was absolutely calm. His eyes were a different color, Watanuki noticed. Instead of the clear brown-eyes that he had, they were now a bright blue. His hair had turned blonde as well. He looked a little like Fai now. (5) _So he's a magic user as well... _"Watanuki-sama, please go back inside. It's dangerous out here."

Despite the new appearance of Daisuke and his magical powers, Watanuki was unfazed by his feelings of worry. "No."

Daisuke's eyes turned soft. "Watanuki-sama..."

"I'm worried about you, and I know you're worried about me but don't be." He climbed up to get off of the ladder and properly on top of the helicopter. He stood up on the roof, holding onto the rotor to keep himself steady, and looked up at Daisuke. "You can continue. If you need help, you can just ask."

Daisuke hesitated before smiling. "Yes, Watanuki-sama." He closed his eyes and the helicopter made another jolt, causing a few gasps from inside. The minute hand began moving slowly... and then faster... and faster. The hour hand moved from 8 to 9... 10... 11...

When the hour hand and the minute hand met at 12, Daisuke opened his eyes in a quick motion. Large sudden winds came from behind Daisuke and blew in the direction of the two hands, making a large suction sound. Watanuki had to kneel down and cling to the rotor system tightly so as to not fly off. Inside the helicopter, everyone held tightly to themselves and their seat belts because the helicopter ride was getting bumpy.

Daisuke lifted his arms, causing the many winds to circle in the very spot in which his arms pointed to. The winds pushed against each other, making a screeching noise that sounded like a crying bird and to Watanuki's disbelief, out of the middle of the circle of winds came a _real_ bird. It was nothing like he'd ever seen before. The bird twisted itself out from inside the wind circle, making the circle itself disappear for it was part of the bird.

The bird flew around, making the passengers inside able to see the magnificent silver bird. (6)

"It looks like a phoenix... but in wind form..." remarked Syaoran. "Kind of like my sword..." He glanced down at the scabbard at his hip. He grasped it for a few minutes, letting a burning energy flow into his hand. He smiled a bit, remembering all those memories that had formed in his mind ever since that day. (7)

Outside of the helicopter, the bird flew in circles, up and down, crying out a piercing song.

"Boreas!" (8)

The bird stopped mid-flight and turned to the one who had called its name. It made a single whistle that sounded like a chirp of affection and flew to Daisuke, in which the helicopter began shaking violently from the winds that blew from it's wings' motion, though Daisuke used his magic midway to keep it steady.

Daisuke reached out to the huge bird with one hand and smiled. Boreas flew closer and closer... in which it got smaller and smaller as it neared its summoner. When it landed on Daisuke's hand, the bird was a mere foot tall, and it looked more friendlier and childish than it was when it was in 'adult form'. (9)

"Watanuki-sama."

Watanuki, who had been hiding and clinging to the rotor system's swash plate the whole time, peeked with one eye up at the person who had called his name. "Is it safe?"

Daisuke laughed. "Yes, Watanuki-sama."

Watanuki sighed in relief and got up from the odd position he was in (10). He brushed himself off and looked up once more. "Is that the same bird that just seemingly tried to break the helicopter?"

Daisuke laughed again. "Yes it is, Watanuki-sama. Her name is Boreas."

"A girl bird, eh?" The seer went on tippy-toes to try to look at Boreas _closer_, but suddenly, he slipped and began sliding off the roof of the helicopter.

"Oya oya ~ now _someone else_ is trying to kill himself?"

"Fai-san!"

"Ahahaha~! I'm just kidding. Right, Nuki-chan?" Fai looked up at Watanuki whose head was visible in the doorway.

Since he was hanging upside down, Watanuki felt the blood rush to his head and he could only say a single "Yes" before falling again... and being caught by Boreas – in her adult form.

The bird cawed and Watanuki, clinging to the bird's feathers as gently though strongly as he could (to not fall off), gave a chuckle and said, "Thanks, Boreas." And Boreas whistled in reply.

Boreas then flew up and about, making some weird acrobatic movies in the air, causing Watanuki to fall off quite a bit when the bird flew upside down, but then get caught once more over and over again. When the bird felt that she had enough fun, she flew back to Daisuke.

The butler immediately chuckled and asked, "Watanuki-sama, are you alright?"

Watanuki held his head as he got off the bird and onto Daisuke's magic circle. "I'm fine. Just fine," and he gave a small laugh to assure Daisuke he wasn't in _that_ bad of a shape.

Daisuke quickly changed attitudes, becoming the worried butler he usually was back at the Suzuki house, and said, "If you're not feeling alright, please go back inside the helicopter, Watanuki-sa--"

"Alright, alright. First of all, quit it with the -sama, -sama, -sama. 'Watanuki' is fine with me."

The butler-pilot opened his mouth to object but then gave a smile and said, "Yes, Watanuki...-san."

"That's much better. Now the second thing; I _don't want to_ go back inside. As I said before, I'm worried about you so continue with what you were doing in the first place... before Boreas here came got jumpy."

Boreas whistled a tune of affection on Daisuke's shoulder. Daisuke smiled and pat the bird gently on the head. Then, he turned to a firm Watanuki and said, "Alright." He stepped forward. "Watanuki..-san, please step back a little."

Watanuki did as he was told and watched as Daisuke closed his eyes, pointed forward and whistled a series of notes. The bird followed its' owners' commands one by one as they came and flew out into the open air – making it go into adult form again, in a circle, then in another circle, and then towards Daisuke but turning up exactly when she was a foot away from the magic user. Watanuki tried to protect himself with his arms from the blow but then noticed that Daisuke had put a barrier over him, and so he watched silently and in awe as the bird performed its 'tricks'.

Suddenly, Daisuke whistled loud and clear, in which the bird descended from its' ascent and before it touched the helicopter's roof, it stopped mid-air and spread its' wings and opened its mouth to breathe out... a black ball of wind. The black ball grew and grew as it flew farther and farther away, until it was way bigger than the helicopter itself. Watanuki gasped as the ball flattened out, creating something like a black hole. As Watanuki thought, the 'black hole' began sucking in the helicopter and whatever was around them – which was, for some unknown reason, nothing. It appeared to be that Daisuke had created yet another barrier around a large space in which the helicopter was in the middle.

"Watanuki-san!"

The named one broke out of his trance and noticed something that immediately set him to start flailing – he was slowly being sucked in by the black hole, barrier and all, off of the magic circle. Daisuke, not moving from where he stood in the middle of his circle, yelled, "Watanuki-san! Please grab onto something! Anything! If you get sucked in before us, you'll be transported to completely different place!"

Watanuki immediately grabbed one of the helicopter's propellers, holding onto it as tightly as he could, despite the fact that his hands were starting to bleed from the sharp blades. The butler called from his circle: "Now please try to get yourself back in the helicopter!"

"But-!"

"Do it!"

There was an edge in the blonde's voice that made Watanuki unconsciously shiver. So he did as he was told. He pulled himself as hard as he could towards the rotor system and to slowly push himself down towards the door below.

Inside the helicopter, Yuuko said aloud, "Watanuki's in trouble~!"

"Ehh?" cried Syaoran. "Then we better save him!" He began to take off his seatbelt but before he could stop his major shaking, Yuuko said, "Doumeki, please."

Everyone looked at Doumeki then and waited for a response. So Doumeki asked in a tone that did not sound like it was a question, "What do I do?"

"All you got to do is stand at the door and catch whatever's falling from the sky, 'kay?~"

"Okay." Doumeki began unbuckling himself of the seatbelt.

"'OKAY'?!" cried Syaoran. "That's _it_?! What if you miss and Watanuki-san plummets to his death?!"

"Ahaha~ Syaoran-kun is being mean about life, Kuro-pii~" Fai nudged Kurogane playfully. "We should teach him his manners, ne~ Kuro-papa~"

"I'm no one's papa!" Kurogane growled. "And stop calling me those stupid nicknames!" He bonked Fai on the head, making the blonde laugh even more and tease him with: "Kuro-wan is being meaaan~"

Sakura and Mokona began laughing then, forgetting all about the tragedy that might occur outside.

"It's gonna be okay."

Syaoran looked up at Doumeki, who announced that simple statement. _How is he so sure?_ he wondered. But then he saw the look in Doumeki's eyes; there was a wall of determination and a pool of settled waters in the gold orbs. Syaoran sighed then, and said, "Okay."

Doumeki nodded and went over to the doorway. From the pilot's seat, Yuuko said, "Get ready!"

The stoic teenager got into 'catching' position, with his arms out and his feet apart.

"He's coming!"

Ten seconds after she said that, a screaming Watanuki flew in and landed on a rock-hard human body.

"Watanuki-san! Are you alright?!" asked Syaoran from his seat.

The seer scratched his head and chuckled. "Yup. Perfectly fine."

"Oi."

Watanuki looked down at the speaker. "WOAH!" He jumped to the side and immediately starting yelling. "What the hell were you doing below me?!"

Doumeki got up from the flat position he was in and rubbed the back of his head. "Nothing much. Just trying to _catch something that fell from the sky_." And he glared at the bespectacled teenager.

Watanuki immediately felt his ears burn and tried his best to glare back. "You didn't have to!"

"Who said I was catching _you_?" Doumeki got up from the floor and went to buckle himself back in his seat.

Watanuki fumed and yelled, "You're so _rude_! That's why I hate you!" And he went to his seat beside Doumeki, buckled himself tightly in, folded his arms and turned the other way.

"Ano..." Sakura was quite surprised by Doumeki's two-faced attitude. He was so willing to help before... and so confident... but now, he was being stubborn. Watanuki even looked like he was about to _cry_. "Watanuki-s--"

"Sakura-san," started Watanuki, not bothering to look at her, "I don't really want to speak right now. Sorry."

The brunette stared at Watanuki for a few seconds before lowering her head. Syaoran tried to make up for Watanuki's behavior by saying, "It's alright, Sakura-hime. He's just in a bad mood. He'll get over it soon... I hope."

Sakura spoke in a low voice. "It's not that... I just... I have a bad feeling about something and... I want to tell him... No, I _need_ to tell him."

"Sakura-hime..." Syaoran looked at her sad expression and gave a smile. "I'm sure you can tell him later..."

The princess gave a sad smile. "Okay..."

A slow whistle was heard from outside the helicopter. "Yuuko-san~ Daisuke-kun wants you to drive the helicopter into the black hole~" said Fai.

"But what about Daisuke-san?" asked Syaoran. "Isn't he coming back in?"

"He's fine out there," answered Fai, giving a bright smile. "As long as he's got his magic."

Watanuki turned to briefly glance at the blonde (for he was sitting across from him and Doumeki was in view if he turned all the way) and wondered, _How does he know Daisuke-san has magic...?_

The same slow whistle was heard again, but this time, there was a small creak of metal breaking.

"Yuuko-san~" "Yuuko-san!!" "Oi!"

"Okay, okay! Hold on tight, everyone!~"

And with that, Yuuko pushed the throttle away from her, making the helicopter move forward despite the lack of electrical power. "Ikuso!~"

* * *

**A/N:** Ahahaha~ I was gonna put "Letsu goo!~" instead of "Ikuso!~" which means the same thing, but it sounded more like Yuuko to say "Ikuso!~" instead of Fai's adorable statement :)

So. Finally updated, though a bit late in the day. Was it okay? O_O;**  
~ Any comments or feedback, please put it in your review ^^;**

**The next chapter will be a bit late.**  
Hopefully, I will get it posted up** before Friday (18)**. I said I finished three chapters, didn't I? But I half-lied about the last one, which is the next one, sorry. I just noticed I didn't finish it yet xD

So. Doumeki's attitude. _What's wrong with him?_ I wonder. XD  
...AND JUST **_WHO IS DAISUKE?! _**:O

Well. Anyway.  
I added a tad bit of fluff and a bit of a starting argument ;) This will be very important in the next few chapters that are to come~

((Did you like the KuroFai parts? I hope it was okay... since I _am_, after all, going to be writing a fic of them soon..))

Thassit ~

**//;SEi**

**Listening To:** Rebirthing – Skillet  
~ LOVE THIS SONG :D

**- - - -**

**(1) Watanuki looked up at Syaoran...** - I will be drawing their seating arrangement and posting it up on my dA, so be sure to check back on my future Author Notes for the notification, 'kay? :3

**(2) Clow Reed** – As you may know... if you watch/read Tsubasa REservoir Chronicles, Sakura refers to Clow Reed as her father because... as you see, he's the king. But if you've watched/read the end, you can see that *spoiler beeeeep*. Yup.

**(3) **_**One's gonna fall faster than the other...**_ - Her thoughts here is kinda mostly on the rift between them. You can kinda see throughout the anime, as well as the ongoing manga that they need each other, you know? If one disappears, the other will disappear sooner or later too – metaphorically speaking.

**(4) Daisuke's magic circle** – I described it quite well in this fic, didn't I? But in case you didn't get the picture, I'm currently drawing it and will be posting it on my dA as well as the helicopter seating arrangement pic and a few others, as you may read below.

**(5) He looked a little like Fai now.** - Ahaha~ I will be drawing this too :3 An original-looking Daisuke, and his magic user form.

**(6) ...magnificent silver bird** – Will be drawing this as well. But to say, it looks like a phoenix as Syaoran says ~

**(7) ...ever since that day** – THAT DAY, meaning that day he fought with that fire sword of his with that thingamabob of a "king", in the ANIME. I'm positive that it didn't happen in the manga since it was like.. what. The 'so-called' last episode or so? Episode 52? I dunno. Last time I watched it was three years ago.

**(8) Boreas!** - Why do you think I gave the birdy this name? It's 'cause an ancient Greek name for north winds (note: remember that the hour&minute hand pointed to 12, in which was _north_), and out of all the other names, it sounded the best xD Why'd I make it a girl-bird? 'Cause... it's not fair that SakuraxSyaoran is the only het. couple, right? Not that Boreas would get a mate.. :3

**(9) Adult form** – of Boreas, that is. I will draw her in both her child form and adult form and post it, so don't worry and don't go crazy thinking it looks like Big Bird or baby Mumble (is that his name? o_O;) from Happy Feet or something.

**(10) ...odd position he was in_ – _**I think I'll draw this as well because it looks VERY FUNNY in my mind and I don't think I explained it that well. Since that was all I said...

- - - -

**NOTE:** You may notice that **MOKONA,** both W. and B. are not really mentioned much here. **THAT'S BECAUSE** they don't really have much of a role and if you were reading a manga version of this or watching an anime episode of this chapter... they'd just be there, sitting next to each other. Ah. But W. Mokona laughed, didn't he? Eheheh..


	4. dESTINATION

**A/N:** Half a year and no update... sorry :\ I just have problems. I know. But enjoy. **~SEi**

**- - - - - - - - - - - Ch4. dESTINATION**

_Where... Where am I?_

Watanuki looked around but all he saw was darkness. He was not in the helicopter anymore, he noticed, since he was standing... on air. He sighed aloud, which caused an echo. He immediately clamped his mouth shut, just in case there was something lurking around... wherever he was.

Unfortunately, there was, and it had heard him. Just as Watanuki took his hand away to breathe in, he heard a noise from behind him. He turned around abruptly and squinted into the pitch-black place he was in, and tried to see/hear if it was still there.

_There._ Again, there was the noise. It sounded like a child whimpering. Watanuki hesitated before moving forward; he raised one leg and placed it on the ground, checking to see if the 'floor' was stable. It was, and he slowly walked towards the something.

As he progressed forward, he saw that he was right. It was a child. The child, like himself, was illuminated by some kind of light, and Watanuki noted his appearance; He had dark hair and was wearing some kind of robe. At first, Watanuki thought it was himself but then he remembered that the robe was for magic users - it was similar to one of Yuuko's - and he himself wasn't one. Probably. When he was close enough, he kneeled before the child and asked, "What's wrong?"

The child had his knees pulled to himself and his head buried in them. When Watanuki spoke, he lifted his head, of which Watanuki saw a set of blue eyes that were filled with sadness and a round pair of glasses that were close to falling off his little nose. The boy hiccuped before burying his face back into his knees, mumbling, "Nothing..."

Watanuki chuckled and said, "It's definitely _something_ if you're that sad."

The boy hiccuped again and then looked up at Watanuki who was giving a reassuring smile which said that it was okay to tell him. The boy stared at him for a few seconds, sad blue eyes to confused blue eyes, and then he gave a little smile, his eyes glittering with a little happiness.

Watanuki raised his eyebrows questioningly. The boy smiled a little brighter this time and got up from his seating position. He reached over and patted Watanuki on the head. "Thank you."

"Huh?"

The boy grinned and then began skipping away and into the darkness. As the boy skipped away, Watanuki heard his voice: _Love those close to you, be they friends or enemies. You're gonna need them._

**o o o o**

"_Oi!_"

The named one opened his eyes. "...Huh...?" Watanuki blinked a few times to clear the blurriness and then tried to sit up but there was a painful feeling in the back of his head that made him almost fall backward again. "Ow..." He rubbed it gently with his right hand but the pain didn't go away. However, he did feel a small bump.

"Watanuki-san?"

He turned his head to his right and saw two worried brunettes. "Are you alright?" they asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "I'm fine... I think." He rubbed it again and then noticed that there was something on his hands. He pulled his hand away from his head and observed it. It was bandaged... messily. He looked at his other hand; it was also bandaged in the same way.

"Who..?"

"Me, of course~"

Watanuki looked up at Fai. The blonde was grinning from where he sat, one leg over the other and his head propped up with an arm that stood up on one knee.

"Why..?"

"Ahaha ~ I knew you wouldn't remember." He got up from his position and leaned back in his seat. "Do you at least remember being on the roof?"

"Um... yeah..."

"Do you remember anything when you were up there?"

"Uh..." Watanuki tried to remember but the back of his head began to throb and he rubbed it again to soothe it.

"Anyway, when you came back down and landed on Doumeki, you seemed to be so preoccupied with fighting with him that you forgot your hands were bleeding." Fai folded his arms. "And since you were so stubborn on not speaking, I didn't have the chance to bandage them until you hit your head."

Watanuki blinked. Then, he immediately glared in Yuuko's direction.

Yuuko pouted. "It wasn't my driving that made you hit your head!"

"Hmph," Kurogane started. "It _was _your fault, witch, 'cause I also got some bruises."

"No, it was _my_ fault."

Everyone's eyes turned to the figure at the doorway.

"Daisuke-san!"

The butler's hair and eyes had changed back to their 'regular' colors. It was also a little disheveled from the gusts of wind outside. He bowed to Watanuki and apologized. "I'm so terribly sorry, Watanuki-sama. My navigations were messed up a little since there were so many loop holes that wanted us to go to them... I'm incredibly sorry that you got hurt because of my carelessness..."

"No no! It's not your fault. Everyone is careless at times..."

Daisuke smiled a little and then said, "Thank you, Watanuki-sama. And thank you Doumeki-sama, for supporting him while he was out."

"Huh?"

But the butler had already gone to where Yuuko was in the front of the helicopter and took the co-pilot's seat, putting on the same 'helmet' plus headphones that Yuuko-san had on.

Watanuki looked at the Tsubasa group for some information but they either just looked away or giggled. He then glanced at Doumeki, who was also looking away and had his arms folded. The teenager rubbed the back of his head and then remembered that he was laying down... _On what?_ He touched his bump. "Ouch..."

At the front of the helicopter, the magicians were talking to each other.

"He noticed, didn't he?" said the co-pilot slash butler.

"Of course," replied the lady. "That's what he does after all: notice things that go unnoticed for normal human beings."

"He was like that in the past too," chuckled Daisuke. But the chuckle faded and a sad expression appeared on his face.

Yuuko just smiled sadly back at him and concentrated on driving the helicopter.

**x x x x**

"Oh look~ We're here!"

Everyone clambered about, trying to look out the windows. For a few minutes, all they saw was the clear blue sea and then they began seeing the coast where fierce waves splashed on the golden beach, forming white foams that disappeared as the wave retreated.

As the helicopter flew further into the center of the island, the group began seeing palm trees and coconut trees and more different kinds of vegetation. Sakura marveled at the many tropical birds that flew out of the trees when the helicopter passed by. Syaoran was amazed at the vast amount of many-colored vegetations that grew on the island. Fai loved how everything looked so peaceful and calm. Kurogane... Kurogane the strong warrior... he didn't really like how _big_ everything was.

It was true. When the helicopter landed on a clearing by the beach, and everyone got out to stare at everything again, they noticed how irregular the size of _everything_ was. The trees were taller and wider than normal trees and the birds.. the _birds_ were about the size of themselves! When they flew high above, they cast a large heavy shadow for at least a whole full minute before it continued on its flight and the sun beat on the travelers once more.

"D-Did you see that...?" asked Watanuki. He was talking about the bird.

"Y-Yeah..." replied the Tsubasa group.

"That was.. a _tetsudai tori_ (1)."

"Huh?"

"Ohh you're so _smart_ Doumeki-kun!~ How'd you know that?" The dark-haired lady grinned.

"There was a book about them in the temple library. It said that they were extinct though..."

Yuuko gave a smile. "...That's true."

Everyone, except Doumeki and Daisuke, gave her a weird look. _What does that mean?_ they wondered. The bird they saw couldn't possibly be... a spirit or something, right? Watanuki shivered at the thought, despite having seen plenty of spirits in his life. But no. Watanuki remembered that the bird had a shadow. That meant it was alive! Such a beautiful bird... it was kinda sad that it was 'extinct' in books.

He looked at Yuuko, who was telling Daisuke to get Doumeki and Watanuki's luggage out of the helicopter. _Something's really fishy about this place..._

Yuuko noticed his gaze and smirked, knowing exactly what he was thinking. He coughed, causing an "Are you okay?" from Sakura. He coughed again and said, "I'm fine. It's just that... it's getting cold, isn't it?" Saying that, he felt a cold wind brush by him. He shivered and hugged himself.

"It sure is..." Fai said, wrapping his own arms around himself. He looked up at the sky. The sun was setting and bursts of fire color slowly began turning into a dark cave color.

"Oh. I forgot to mention this: time is slower here, so what seems like an hour back at the store is about three hours here." (2)

The group looked at Yuuko. She was wearing her regular dress... but even as the wind blew quietly and coldly, her dress didn't sway at all. Just like that time in the rain... Watanuki remembered. _There really is something weird about this place..._

"We were supposed to have arrived here around half-evening but it seems like we were a bit late. It must have been because of _that_, right, Daisuke-kun?"

The butler nodded, putting on a grim face. But when he noticed Watanuki staring blankly at him, he gave a smile as if nothing was wrong. _He seems a bit like Fai-san..._

"'_That_'?" asked Kurogane. "What's '_that_'?"

"Oh it's nothing, Kuro-pii~ You don't have to be so scared that you'll pee in your pants," W. Mokona said.

"**WHO WOULD DO THAT!**?" He growled, and stretched the manjuu-like's mouth in all directions.

"But really, Yuuko-san. Is it really something that we can know but not worry about?" Syaoran asked, keeping the princess close to him.

The witch gave a smile. "Yes."

Only one person saw through that smile, since he was the master of smiles himself. One other than Daisuke.

**x x x x**

"So! We are now departing!"

"_WHAT_?_ Already_?" exclaimed Watanuki. "You haven't even told us the basics of surviving on this island!"

"_Whaaat_? Are you _that_ stupid that you can't even make a fire on your own or hunt for food?" teased Yuuko.

"I-I know how to do that!" The teenager blushed. "I-It's _this_ idiot that I'm worried about!" He pointed at Doumeki.

"_Oh_? _Worried_?" The other teenager smirked. "I don't need _an idiot_ like _you_ worrying about me."

"Y-Y-YOU- WHO ARE YOU CALLING AN IDIOT, _IDIOT_!"

"Ah~ah~ The lover's spat has started again~" sighed Fai, placing his hands on his hips. He grinned when Watanuki turned red and started rambling "We're not lovers!" and "We're not even friends!" and pointing furiously at Doumeki, etc. to Fai, who was then trying to calm him down, and yelling "This is not funny!" to everyone else who was laughing.

Doumeki just watched them silently with his index fingers plugged into his ears. He took them out when he saw the witch clap her hands.

"Alright alright. We need to get going now. It'd be bad if we miss the last episode of M. T. N. Neuro! (3) _So goodbye, you all_!" She stepped into the helicopter gracefully. Everyone thought that action was strange, but they still waved.

"Watanuki...-san."

"Yes?" Said person looked up at Daisuke, who was searching for something in his pocket.

"This..." The butler took out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Watanuki. "Yuuko-sama said to give this to you. It's a map to the villa."

Watanuki's eyebrows went up. "_Villa_?"

"Yes," Daisuke smiled.

"Daisuke-kuun~ Come on! I don't want to miss M. T. N. Neuro!" Yuuko called from the helicopter.

"Coming!" He called back. Facing Watanuki again, he said, "Well, I have to go now."

"Why can't she just drive herself back? She drove us _here_ after all."

"I don't think you would believe me, Watanuki...-san, but she's tired."

Watanuki was surprised. _Tired? Her?_ "Why?"

"Well, she was using her magic this whole time..."

"Why?" It seemed as if he wanted to know _everything_.

"That..." Daisuke glanced at the helicopter. "That is a secret." He smiled.

Watanuki blinked. _Why is '_everything_' a secret here?_ he wondered. He sighed, erasing those confusing thoughts and putting out a hand. Daisuke looked at it like it was a rare animal.

"Let's meet again someday, Daisuke-san," Watanuki smiled.

Daisuke smiled back. "Very well, Watanuki-san." He took the hand and shook it. Then, he began walking towards the helicopter.

But he was stopped by Fai. There was silence before the blonde spoke up.

"You're not normal."

"You're not normal either."

"..."

"..."

"Who are you?"

"I'm Daisuke," he smiled.

Fai frowned. "Not your fake name."

"Then what's _your_ real name?"

That surprised Fai. "You..."

Daisuke smiled briefly before putting on a serious face. "If you smile too much, the people you cherish will be hurt by those fake feelings."

"As long as they don't know, I don't care."

The butler sighed and put on a sad smile. "Yuui-sama... you've changed." (4)

Fai froze. No one, except that man, knew of this name. (5) _How does he-?_ He looked carefully at the butler, trying to see the man's aura to identify his power. He couldn't see anything. It seemed like he was hiding it intentionally. He _was_.

"I can't show you my aura or else you'll kill me."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because I know how you think."

_This man is dangerous..._ Despite that thought, Fai wanted to test the man out. He began drawing magic into a ball.

"DAAISSUKEE! NEURO!"

The ball dissolved.

Daisuke smiled at the ground and then looked up at Fai. "I have to go now."

The blonde watched as the butler went to pick up B. Mokona who was saying his goodbyes to W. Mokona and "See you again soon!" to Watanuki and Doumeki.

_Take care._ In the brief moment that he heard those two words in his head, Fai saw a brief flicker of color on Daisuke. His eyes had turned blue and his hair had turned blond. He had not seen this appearance when the butler was up on the roof of the helicopter. Fai had only felt his presence and the magic. But this was too much.

He stepped forward but tripped on a rock. Kurogane caught him with an arm. "You okay? Your eyes are huge and your mouth is open."

Fai looked at him, his mouth still hanging open.

"What?" asked the warrior, regretting his previous action a little.

The blonde turned his head to the dirt on the ground. "No... it's nothing..."

"Hn."

They then heard the helicopter coming to life, the propellers slicing through the air furiously. Yuuko and Mokona appeared at the door as the helicopter began lifting higher and higher. "Have fun!~"

The wind was too strong and everyone was unable to wave or call back, having huddled into themselves to avoid 'anything' that could possibly hurt them (like dirt in their eyes, for example). When the helicopter disappeared into the night sky with a twinkle like a star, everyone patted themselves off of the dust that had drifted onto them.

Watanuki then unfolded the paper Daisuke had given him and looked at it. He couldn't see anything. It was becoming too dark to clearly see anything, other than the outlines of the figures of the island organisms nearby, and the traveling group. He held it up to the moonlight and let it eyes adjust for a few seconds. Then, he noticed something on the paper. It was an arrow pointing in some direction.

And that was all that was on the paper.

"_What the heck?_"

"What is it?" asked Doumeki, coming over to him with both his and the other's luggage in his hands. He observed the paper. "It's an arrow."

"I can _see_ that, thank you very much," Watanuki said in an annoyed tone.

"Then let's follow it."

"It's no good! I turned so I could see it better so I don't think-" When he turned to face Doumeki, he saw something extraordinary. The arrow turned on the paper. "Wh-.."

"A paper compass I guess?" (6)

"..." Watanuki turned again to test to see if his eyes had deceived him in the darkness of the night. The arrow turned again.

"A compass always points north. The villa must be up north."

The bespectacled teenager looked suspiciously at Doumeki. "How do you know about the villa?"

"Well _someone_ was talking _really loudly_ that I _couldn't help_ but_ hear_."

Watanuki felt his cheeks burn. "B-But I was really surprised! I can't help it! My voice gets loud when I'm surprised!"

"...Really?" Doumeki smirked. He was standing under a tree and Watanuki could only see the smirk on his face. He somehow _knew_ that there was an evil look in those golden eyes...

"Wh-What are you going to do about it?" Watanuki began backing up.

Doumeki smirked again and stepped out of the tree's shadow. There really _was_ an evil look in his eyes. And the owner of those eyes were coming closer.

"D-Doumeki...?"

"Heh."

A branch crackled under his foot as he drew closer to the seer.

"N-N-N-No, stop, stop, stop.. _HYAA_!"

A bunch of night birds flew out of their nests out of surprise.

* * *

**A/N:** Lol. I'm leaving you with so many questions :P

What happened to Watanuki? Who is Daisuke _really_? Who was that kid in the beginning? What are those 'secrets' that Daisuke and Yuuko are hiding? (No, they are not dating or anything, just in case you've got a perverted mind or something...) Want to guess the answers? Feel free to ^-^

**(1) Tetsudai tori** - Lol it's really just two words together. "Helper" and "bird". Get it? Helper bird. They're important in this story. I mean, they're going to be.

**(2) The time difference on the island **- It should be normal, since they're in the middle of nowhere and on some kind of magical island with huge birds and huge trees and unicorns... (I wish). Well, anyway. Why three hours? I don't know. I guess it's because it took me at least three hours to write this chapter.

**(3) M. T. N. Neuro** - You should know by the last word! It's _Majin Tantei Nogami Neuro_! Yes, that awesome weird anime/manga. I was gonna put Detective Conan you know. But it's too popular. So you better check out MTNN now. Have fun :P

**(4) Yuui-sama... **- If you're a _Tsubasa REservoir Chronicles_ manga reader, you should know by now :P

**(5) That man...** - (Read above)

**(6) Paper compass -** It's magic. Do you believe in magic? You should. For this story at least :S


	5. sEPARATION

**A/N:** The chapter title sounds weird. I know you're thinking weird things but it's really simple and normal. Just don't worry about it so much lol. **~SEi**

**- - - - - - - - - - - Ch5. sEPARATION**

"NEVER. EVER. DO THAT AGAIN!" yelled Watanuki as the traveling group trudged through the dark towards the villa.

"What are you yelling about?" asked an expressionless Doumeki. "All I did was poke you."

"THAT'S _EXACTLY_ MY POINT!" flailed Watanuki.

Sakura giggled. "You two get along so well."

"Sakura-chan..." The seer sighed sadly. Not having Himawari-chan around was already depressing enough but having another girl with the same thoughts of Himawari-chan in _that_ area was very depressing. (1)

"But it's true. Anyone can tell just by looking at you two~" Mokona remarked from atop Fai's head.

Sakura agreed. "You remind me of Fai-san and Kurogane-san."

"Ahahaha~ But _we're_ more_ intimate_-" The blonde walked forward and took hold of Kurogane's arm, hugging it with all his might. "See?"

"_WHO'S_ INTIMATE!" roared the man. He tried to shake the other off but Fai kept holding on.

"Oh come on, Kuro-chan~ We _have_ to! It's so dark and I can't see where we're going! All I see is that little light that Doumeki-kun is holding and him himself with Watanuki-kun with the compass. The trees are covering the moonlight and-"

"ALL RIGHT! _I GET IT_! JUST SHUT UP!"

"Ehehe~"

Before they had started walking, Doumeki had struck a match so that they can see which way the compass was pointing. They were at the front of the group, with Sakura and Syaoran in the middle, and Fai plus Mokona and Kurogane at the end. Doumeki had enough matches to go around but Syaoran insisted that it was alright for them to not have one because then all the matches would be used up and they - the ones on vacation - wouldn't have enough to last their entire stay. After all, the Tsubasa group were only staying until they found Sakura's feather.

Sakura giggled until she let out a yelp.

Doumeki and Watanuki stopped and turned around. "Sakura-chan? What's the matter?"

"O-Oh, um, it's nothing..."

"Are you sure?" asked Syaoran, concernedly.

"Y-Yes..."

The two with the light looked at each other, doubtful. But they turned back around and continued leading the way towards the villa. But after three turns this way and that, the princess let out another yelp.

"Sakura-hime? What's wrong?"

"Th-There was s-something..."

"Eh?"

Doumeki walked over to the brunettes with the match, leaving Watanuki in the shadows. With the light, he looked around to see if there was something there. "There's nothing here..."

"I-It brushed by my legs..."

So Doumeki searched low, in the bushes, behind the trees, at the dirt... but he didn't find anything. "I don't see anyth-"

"WHOA-!"

The archer turned abruptly around with the light to where he had left Watanuki a few feet away. But the seer wasn't there.

"..." Doumeki stood there, staring into the space where a presence... no, _two_ presences were. He closed his eyes and listened for any movement. As he waited, a night breeze blew the match and the fire faded into smoke.

Suddenly, Doumeki heard a rustle to his left. He ran towards it, the Tsubasa group following shortly behind. It was very dark and all he could see was the heavy shadows of nature everywhere. He bumped into a tree before he thought of searching his way through with his hands. His eyes also adjusted to the darkness and the glow of the moon, helping him search for the seer.

"Doumeki!~ Wait up!~" called Mokona from somewhere.

But he didn't wait. He didn't even turn around to see how far behind they were. It wasn't because he was _worried_ about Watanuki. He was just worried about if he would be able to survive without Watanuki...'s cooking. Okay, okay, so he _was_ worried... in some way. (sigh)

After what seemed like an hour searching in the darkness, Doumeki sat down beside a tree to rest. He was panting heavily from running around and lack of water. He leaned against the tree and sighed. _I'm getting nowhere like this..._ He looked around. _There must be some kind of hint..._ Great. Now he was taking this like a game of hide and seek. But it certainly _was_ similar in a way; it's just that Watanuki had actually been kidnapped. Teennapped. Or something like that. By someone. Or some_thing_...

There was nothing. It was too dark to actually see anything anyway. He couldn't go back since he didn't know where the villa was (Watanuki had the compass) or where the Tsubasa group were (he had literally ran away from them, after all). The moonlight was becoming less and less noticeable the further he was in the trees. He sighed again, his eyes resting on the dirt.

_Maybe I should wait until morning... _But that was about... three hours away. There was at least two hours left of 'night' and a full hour of 'midnight' left. _Damn it... What is with this island?_ He banged his fist on the tree's large roots that were uprooted. _That idiot... where the heck did he-_

His thoughts were interrupted by a sound of flapping wings. Something landed on his lap and gave a tweet. He stared into the darkness, trying to see what it was (though he clearly knew it was a bird of some sort). Suddenly, the bird was illuminated in some glow. Doumeki knew what it was now.

"You're... a _tetsudai tori_."

The bird gave a cheerful tweet.

He stared at it. He reached out and patted it. "But you're so small..."

The bird seemed to get angry. "_Of course! I'm still a fledgling! ...Oops..._" (2)

Doumeki's eyes widened. The bird's beak hadn't moved but sure enough, he was hearing a voice. "You..."

"_My name is not 'you'!_" The bird flapped its wings, stirring the grass around where Doumeki was seated.

The teenager couldn't help but smirk. It reminded him tremendously of someone... He frowned, remembering that that special someone was somewhere lost (though he couldn't say so much about himself...). "Oi."

"_Like I said! My name is not 'you'! It's 'Satori'!_" The bird said through Doumeki's mind (telepathy). (3)

"... Oi."

Satori glared at the human and then looked away angrily. Doumeki smirked again but then he turned serious. "If you're a _tetsudai tori_, then you should be able to help me." (4)

Satori looked at him again, all anger gone. "_That's what I'm here for! Though I'm still practicing my skills..._"

"As long as you've got skill, then you can help."

"_Sure thing! So what is that you need help with? Since I'm still only a beginner at this 'helping thing', I can only do three things max to help. A grown _tetsudai tori_ would have many more but this is all I can do..._" Satori looked away, embarrassed that he could only do a few things to help his first customer.

"...Like I said, as long as you've got skill, then you can help. And I need help finding someone."

The bird blinked and looked at Doumeki. He 'grinned'. "T_hat's one of my specialities!_"

"That's good to know," he stated. He began getting up, causing Satori to start flapping his wings. When he stood up, he asked, "So where do we start?"

**x x x x**

"Ahahaha~ We're lost~!"

"You don't need to state the obvious."

"We're separated from Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun!"

"And we're stuck with you. Shut up, manjuu."

"Aww, Fai~ Kuro-tan is being mean to me."

"Ohh come here Mokona-chan~"

Mokona jumped into the blonde's arms and nuzzled into his chest. "Fai~"

Fai hugged him tightly. "Mokona~"

"Oi oi. Stop being so lovey-dovey over there and help me search for them!"

"Aww, Kuro-wan's jealous~" the white bunny-being said, hopping onto Fai's head.

"You want a hug too, Kuro-wan? Here, come here, I'll give you one~" The blonde spread out his arms and ran towards Kurogane.

"Oi! Stop that!" The dark-haired man was suddenly attacked by Fai. The speed that Fai rushed towards Kurogane with added to the force...

"Ehh..?"

...that pushed Kurogane and themselves (since Fai was attempting to land on the swordsman, after all) to fall off the slope that they were on.

**o o o o**

"Sakura-hime. Are you alright?"

"Y-Yes. I think so."

"...Let's rest here then."

Syaoran and the princess sat themselves by a large rock. They were in the shadow of the rock, just in case any nocturnal organism would come out and attack them as prey.

"Seems like we got separated from them..."

Sakura nodded. Then, she coughed.

"Ah - Do you need water? Should I go get some? Are you hungry? Are you sleepy? Are you-"

"S-Syaoran-kun! I'm _fine_!"

Syaoran gave a chuckle. "S-Sorry..."

"It's not your fault Syaoran-kun. You don't need to apologize. You were just worried about me."

That made him blush. "S-Sorry..."

"What are you apologizing for now?"

"Haha... sorry..."

"Syaoran-kun!"

He laughed as Sakura pouted and folded her arms. Suddenly, he noticed the sudden stillness in the air and his laughter ceased. It was like something was about to happen.

And then out of the blue, Sakura stood up. Syaoran looked up at her. "Sakura-hime?" She was looking at something, he noticed. But it didn't seem like it was in this world or anything - her eyes were fogged up like she was hypnotized. He stood up then and asked again, "Sakura-hime?"

"There's a... I feel... a feather... nearby..."

"Eh?"

* * *

**A/N:** Pooey. I'm tired. It's almost 2AM.

**Now here's an important note:**

~ The KuroFai part will be continued in an entirely new story. And yes. That would be the KuroFai story I was talking about sometime ago.

~ The SakuSyao part will be continued in the KuroFai story. It'll not be much, really, so it'll fit snugly in with the KuroFai. Maybe.

**(1) _That_ area** - Lol you should get what I mean. Otherwise, it means 'misunderstanding'. In a way. Or something. Can't explain it well.

**(2) "..._Oops..._"** - Well. Um. _Tetsudai toris_ aren't supposed to talk to humans even if they need help. The humans would kinda understand after a while. Satori got a little emotional so he couldn't help it lol.

**(3) Satori** - A fictional made up bird character. Satori means '_enlightenment'_. Match? Maybe not. I kinda chose it for the 'tori' after all lol. And whichever way you want to interpret it - _Sa_ (meaning gap or difference) or _Sato_ (village or hometown) or _Satō_ (sugar), I don't really care lol.

**(4) Tetsudai tori** - Basically, it's a helping bird. As Satori stated, they learn from their elders as they grow. Satori is a novice. An adult tetsudai tori is very large - about human size, while a fledgling like Satori is about the size of a chicken. So yes, he was pretty heavy when he landed on Doumeki's lap.

I'm going to attempt to draw them t-t's so... yeah. Hope you enjoyed this short chapter **~SEi**


	6. aSSOCIATION

**A/N:** Updated finally! :x I'm losing readers but that's alright with me. It was just me who wanted to write it anyway :P **~SEi**

**P.S.** You don't have to read the first two paragraphs. They're just some explanations of time on the island. It's quite confusing so you don't got to read them.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - Ch6. aSSOCIATION**

The dark of the night had been a heavy curtain over Doumeki's eyes but the glow of Satori allowed him to see now, illuminating not just their path but almost everything around them. It was as if Satori was the moon himself. How Satori got his glow, Doumeki didn't know, but he didn't really care as long as the bird was there to guide him through the forest's dark paths at the hour they were in. What hour they were in, Satori could tell since after all, he specialized as a "seeker" - one who could find something, and even if you think _time_ is not something you could find, you're wrong. It's in everything and it shows in a certain way; you just have to find it.

So basically, the two were in the first hour and a half of the 'night' of the island. The beings of the island didn't have a specific thing to tell time like a clock or a sundial. Time was all around, and though you think they don't have brains, they at least do know colors and position. The first hour of 'night' was dark but the moon was still very low in the sky, almost very close to the horizon. The second hour of the 'night' was almost close to black and the moon was right above the island. The third hour (or last hour) of the 'night' (or simply 'midnight') was when it was dark but not black and the moon was on the other side of the island, close to the horizon.

Right now, the moon was halfway from the horizon and from above the island - an hour and a half into 'night'. Doumeki was getting tired from walking now... as well as listening to Satori yap on and on about him being his first customer.

"_But it's so great, you know? We haven't had humans on the island for YEARS! Or maybe DECADES! Or even CENTURIES! Just thinking about it gives me the chillies. Hey, are you even listening?_" Satori stared at Doumeki.

"Ah."

"_That's good_." The bird turned around and began flapping on in some direction Doumeki didn't know exactly. "_And anyway, my grandpa, he's the current head of the _Tetsudai tori'_s - he'll be so..._"

Doumeki didn't tell the talkative bird to shut up. It was just like with Watanuki, after all (- though this bird was more like an excited little kid talking to an older kid as he is being brought to the amusement park or something.) Watanuki always complained and ranted on and on and on with him that he got used to it. Well, not really 'used to it'. More like, his skill of ignoring people leveled up to a point in which he couldn't hear him anymore. That is, if he wanted to hear, then he'll hear. And if he replies, it may be that he knows that you stopped talking and he'll just say something, like...

"_...So once we've found this 'Watanuki' guy, I want to introduce you to my family and my grandpa. That's okay with you, right?_"

"Ah."

"_Great!_" Satori flapped his wings harder. _"Oh man, I really want to hurry up and find him already! It's kinda hard finding someone at night since the moon's power interferes with our brains. I don't know how but it does. So it's gonna take a little longer, okay?_"

"Ah."

"_You're really a positive guy, aren't you?_"

"Ah."

Satori gave a giggle-tweet, oblivious of Doumeki's normal behavior.

**x x x x**

"Ouch..." Watanuki rubbed the back of his head. There was another bump growing on top of the other one from the helicopter. _I really need to get my first-aid kit... Ah, that's right. Doumeki has it._

"Doumeki!" His voice bounced on and off something solid and made an echo. Watanuki immediately put a hand over his mouth and waited until the echo faded.

_...Where am I anyway?_ He looked around him but all he saw was some shiny stuff around him that looked like plastic and darkness in front and behind him. A cave, maybe?

Changing his volume to a whisper, he called, "Doumeki? Syaoran-kun? Saku-" He stopped. _What's the point in calling her if the others didn't reply either? Geez, I think my head got messed up when-_

He thought for a second. _When _what_ happened?_ He frowned as he tried to remember. He remembered they were walking when Sakura yelped and Doumeki went to see what was wrong and..._ Ah. That's right. Something took me away. _He nodded at his thoughts... and then shook his head with bewildered eyes._ What's wrong with me?_!_ I WAS TAKEN AWAY! KIDNAPPED!_ He put his hands on his head in shock and panic and shook his head over and over again, tumbling over in the process. "Kidnapped kidnapped kidnapped kidnapped kidnap-!"

Suddenly, Watanuki heard a sound from behind.

"Who's there?" he whispered as he sat up and turned around.

"Hyuu hyuu..." The sound sounded like a whistle; far away and echo-y. Watanuki thought it was the wind but then he heard footsteps.

"Eh?" He looked around but all he saw was black. Then, there was a light glow from his right. It was coming closer...

"Hyuu!"

The owner of the sound and the glow pounced on Watanuki, causing him to fall backwards. "Whoa-!" He fell and made a big impact with the wall and floor of the cave, his glasses falling off in the process.

The creature on top of him was quite heavy. And large. It was looming over him like a dragon. Not like he had ever seen one (or hoped it was one). He thought 'dragon' because from what he could see without his glasses, the creature had wings - and not feathered ones at that, and 'dragon' was the first thing to mind.

Watanuki didn't feel scared at all though; he felt a weird vibe from the creature. It was almost... _nostalgic_ in a way. Maybe.

"U-Uh, do you mind getting off of me?" It was getting hard to breathe, his chest being pressed on heavily. Watanuki wondered if the creature would understand.

It did. It climbed off to the side and sat down. "Hyuu."

Watanuki sat up and rubbed his head for the umpteenth time today. "Geez. My brain is going to be all scrambled eggs or sausages if I hit my head one more time," he mumbled.

"Hyuu?"

The seer patted the ground around him for his glasses. When he found them, he put them on and then stared at the glowing figure next to him. His eyes adjusted and then... "Whoa!" He jumped back.

"Hyuu?"

The creature looked like a Mokona, but not really a Mokona. It didn't have bunny ears or small feet like a Mokona, but it kind of... _felt_ like a Mokona. Like it was _related_ in some way. The creature had a wolf-build, with three colors max, small eyes, wings, and..._ Is that the compass in it's mouth?_

"Hyuu."

_Oh, so that's why it's making that noise. It can't open it's mouth so it's blowing and the paper and the wind makes a whistle-kind of noise. _Watanuki was impressed by this. But it was no time to be impressed; he needed a way to get back to the others.

"Uh..." He held out his hand in front of the creature. "You are..?"

The creature dropped its heavy head on Watanuki's hand and gave a loud "Hyuu", causing the compass to fall out of his mouth. Watanuki grabbed at it before it fell to the ground.

"You know, I really don't understand what you're trying to-"

"_Can you understand me now?_"

"Whoa!" Watanuki backed up. "H-How are you doing that?"

"_Humans call it telepathy, I suppose._"

"Y-Yeah... I guess."

"_Now that you understand me... I am Ryuu._" The creature 'bowed'.

Watanuki chuckled. "You_ do_ look like a dragon."

"_Thank you_."

_That wasn't really a compliment..? Oh well_. "Y-you're welcome. And I'm-"

"_Clow Reed._"

"Huh? N-No!" He shook his head wildly. "I'm Watanuki Kimihiro."

"_Really? You look like what my father described..._"

"Your... father?"

"_Yes. He said his master had dark hair like the night, blue eyes like the moon in the water, and glasses that sparkle in the moonlight._"

"Hahaha..." said Watanuki, blushing a little. "Your father sure knows his master... But I'm not Clow Reed."

"_That's what I thought when I saw your reactions... but I just wanted to make sure..._"

"I-I see..." He was kind of offended, but he didn't mind that much because the creature was being sincere.

Ryuu sighed and then lay down. _"I apologize for having taken you away from your companions but it was for an important cause... That is, if you were actually Clow Reed..._"

"An important cause? Like what?"

Ryuu paused and looked at Watanuki as if deciding whether it was a good idea to tell him. He decided to tell. After all, the only people who could actually come to the island had to have connections to magic. _"The life of this island is starting to diminish. The creatures of this island is slowly become extinct._"

"How... How is that happening?"

"_The island's life source is the creator himself, Clow Reed_."

"But isn't Clow Reed... dead?"

Ryuu stood up abruptly and roared, "_Clow Reed is not dead! He cannot be! How are we still living then?_"

Watanuki was taken back. "I-I don't know..."

The island creature frowned. "_That witch. Did she say anything about Clow Reed to you?_"

"N-No, she never did. I assumed he was dead myself because she..."

Ryuu stared at Watanuki for a few seconds before sighing again. "_If you say so, then it must be true. I just didn't want to believe it. But seeing how he's been gone for so many years already and that when some humans finally arrive on our island and none of them is Clow Reed… I just have to believe that is so_." Ryuu lowered his head in disappointment.

"Ryuu…" Watanuki patted his head, sadly. After some thought, he asked, "When was the last time he came to this island?"

"_I...I don't remember. Either way, the time on the island is longer than that in the human world_."

"Hmm… Did he say what he was going to do in the human world?"

"_No... he did not. Each time he left for the human world, we never asked anything because we knew he would always come back. But he did not come back this time…_"

Watanuki looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry, Ryuu…"

"_It's not your fault, Watanuki-sama. It's not… anybody's fault. It's simply just Hitsuzen._" Ryuu got up and began walking towards what Watanuki thought was the entrance of the cave. "_But I have to apologize again to you, Watanuki-sama, for bringing you here. Come, I will bring you back to your companions now._"

Watanuki got up and followed. As they walked out of the cave, he said, "Ryuu, if I can help the island in any way, please tell me."

Ryuu looked up at the seer and almost 'smiled'. "_Thank you._"

Suddenly, overhead, there was a loud screeching noise. In front of them, there was the sound of bushes rustling, leaves crunching and branches snapping. Something was coming right at them.

* * *

**I started this chapter a really long while ago, and it was kinda confusing to me to try and update it.  
**So if you guys are confused as well, review and I'll try my best to explain back to you.


	7. sUBSTITUTION

**A/N: **Every Friday starting from today, I will try to update at least 1-2 chapters for iSLAND _only_. That's all for news! Any other news, please check my profile (on FF) or my livejournal. :) **~SEi**

**- - - - - - - - - - - - Ch7. sUBSTITUTION**

Ryuu made Watanuki stay close behind him as the sounds surrounded them and closed in. About two meters off, they stopped and all was silent. Ryuu sniffed the air and calculated in his mind, _About ten: four in trees, six on ground. Three big, the rest small. One... is the leader._

Just as he thought that, a creature similar to Ryuu in appearance slipped out of the trees in front of them. It had an air of arrogance around it.

"_Ryou_," said Ryuu, glaring.

The four in the trees dropped down behind Ryou, their claws glistening menacingly in the moonlight.

"_Ryuu_," replied the other creature, smiling haughtily.

Ryuu growled. "_Why are you here?_"

"_Oh, what? I can't go out in the night and hang out with my friends like you? Oh wait – you don't have any friends!_" Ryou gave a cackling laugh, causing some of the other creatures surrounding Watanuki and Ryuu to giggle and sneer. Watanuki shivered, feeling the tension in the air.

Ryuu growled again and took a step forward. "_Why are you here?_"

"_Hmph_." Ryou tossed his head. "_What an impatient brother._" He walked up to Ryuu and smirked. "_I want Clow Reed_," he said, and made eye contact with Watanuki.

_Eh?_ Watanuki thought. _Me?_ "But I'm not-"

Ryuu backed up with a roar, causing Watanuki to cut off. "_This is treason!_"

"_Oh? So you know what I'm going to do?_"

"_Of course I do!_" Ryuu growled. "_I've been listening to your plans..._"

This statement made Ryou frown. He turned his head to the right and then to the left. "_Who was it?_" he asked.

Ryuu didn't answer and just watched as his twin brother walked slowly over to one of the seven small creatures on the ground. He heard a shriek and then a thump.

Watanuki was speechless.

"_You see? Do you _see_ that?_" Ryou was saying in a loud voice. "_If you betray me – ME, the future king of CLOW iSLAND, you'll be punished with _death_!_"

There was a heavy silence after the last word. Ryuu broke it, saying in a low voice, "_...Who says you're going to be the future king?_"

Ryou turned to his brother.. "_What? You asked 'who'?_" He laughed in his Ryuu's face. "_Of course, _myself_! After all, the stupid current king made _you_ a successor instead of _me_! And _I _am stronger than you!_"

"_Being a king isn't all about strength_," Ryuu mumbled.

But Ryou heard him and yelled, "_Shut up! Being a king _is _all about strength! Can't you tell? - or are you really that stupid? Father was strong when he became ruler. But after that stupid human_" - at this, he looked straight at Watanuki, who took a step back - "_left the island, everyone's spirits began dying – mentally!_"

Watanuki was surprised at this. _Does that mean Ryuu lied to me? No, he told me only the main problem. Ryuu's explanation is more detailed..._

"_But _my_ spirit?_" Ryou was saying. "_My spirit lives on my _hatred_ for him! That's why I'm strong!_"

"_And what?_" asked Ryuu, who had been listening quietly and patiently. "_You think that by killing Clow Reed, you will be more stronger?_"

"_Of course_." Ryou began walking towards Watanuki. "_So give me the human_."

Watanuki saw Ryuu's ears twitch and then bend forward in alert. "_In your dreams!_" He pounced and attacked his brother with a paw and a loud roar.

At the same time, a rustling sound came from the left and Watanuki watched as a bird (_Is it glowing?_, thought Watanuki) came out of the bushes, followed by Doumeki, who appeared tired and filthy, with his luggage on his back.

"_Leave with your companion! Now!_" said Ryuu, who was trying to defend himself from his brother's attacks.

"But what about-!"

"_Just go!_"

Ryou saw Watanuki run towards the other human who appeared suddenly and growled. "_STOP HIM!_" he yelled, just before Ryuu bit his back.

Just as Doumeki picked up Satori, grabbed Watanuki's hand and sprinted into the forest with them both, there was the sound of movement everywhere. The ground shook like a horde stampeding; leaves rustled as they were being crushed or pushed away; and the creatures that had wings screeched high above in the sky which was beginning to turn blue.

**x x x x**

By the time the three stopped to rest, the sun was peeking out from the horizon, emitting a long streak of light that shone the humans' heaving chests.

"Did... did we lose... them...?" asked Watanuki, between breaths. He looked at Doumeki for an answer but instead, Satori, who had been carried the whole time through the run, answered for him.

"_No_," said Satori, who was now sitting on a rock. "_They will catch up sooner or later. They can smell you._"

By now, Watanuki had caught his breath. He said, "Then let's go wash off!"

"_No. It is futile. You smell like humans and humans can't get rid of that humane smell._"

"Then what are we supposed to do?" inquired Watanuki. He looked at Doumeki, who was staring at the sky.

Satori gave a chirp and a flap of his little wings. "_The opposite_!"

Watanuki gave him a look of confusion.

Doumeki answered for the bird. "It means to get dirty."

* * *

**A/N: **I can't find any explanations to give; I think I explained it enough (since it was a short chapter). But if you do have any questions, go ahead and ask me in your review! **~SEi**


	8. mEDICATION

**A/N: **An.. update... :\ **~SEi**

**- - - - - - - - - - - - Ch8. mEDICATION**

"Oh... so this... is... what you meant..." Watanuki said through breaths. The group had stopped in front of a huge tree to catch their breath. An enormous swamp spread from one horizon to the other in front of them.

Doumeki looked at him and smirked. "What did you think I meant?"

"Sh-Shut up!" yelled Watanuki, flailing.

"_They're near!_" said Satori on Doumeki's head. He pointed with a wing towards the swamp. "_Let's hurry up!_"

When they got to the edge of the swamp, Watanuki peered down at the water. It was filthy and had almost everything he could think of in it: leaves, feces, branches... even some kind of creature that looked like a frog and a dog mashed together was swimming in it!

He grimaced. "Do we have to-?"

"_Jump!_"

Watanuki's scream got caught in his throat as he was forcefully pushed from behind into the disgusting water. Underwater, he could barely make out anything except the large hand that was tightly grasping his own. After a few seconds, he couldn't take it any more and pulled Doumeki's hand in the direction of the surface, letting the other know that he wanted air.

Doumeki understood and started swimming towards the surface. Suddenly, he was yanked backwards in Watanuki's direction. He gently pulled Watanuki's hand as if in question. In answer, the hand jerked away and out of sight. Through the muck, Doumeki couldn't see what was wrong but he know _something _was up. He tried to swim a little deeper but the breath that he held was done. He quickly swam towards the light and broke the surface.

He coughed out water but did not attempt to swim back to shore. He looked around and felt retreating presences far away from the swamp. He searched for Satori but the bird wasn't in sight. Satori had flown off somewhere when he had pushed Watanuki into the water and jumped in himself. His mind went back to Watanuki. _Him first. Bird later._

Sucking in a breath and holding it, he dipped back into the filthy water and swam deeper and deeper, searching for Watanuki. When he did, Watanuki was frantically trying to get his feet untangled from the large abundance of kelp that filled the swamp floor. His face was turning red from lack of oxygen and bubbles began forming from his nose and mouth as he tried to hold his breath for a few more seconds.

Doumeki immediately swam closer to the kelp and helped pull at it, against the pressure of the water. It was a slow process and before Watanuki's right foot was as free as his left, Watanuki clasped his hands over his mouth and accidentally let the rest of his breath go, letting all the water glide quietly into his mouth and nose. He became weak and numb and when Doumeki finally got Watanuki's foot untangled, he was already starting to sink.

In a quick motion, Doumeki reached out and put an arm around Watanuki's hips. Holding him with one arm, and pushing against the water with the other, he swam towards the surface once more. He didn't stop to take the seaweed off his head or to wipe away the water that stung his eyes. He dragged Watanuki's limp body towards shore. He didn't notice the pain that shot through his arm as he pushed Watanuki out of the water and onto a lying position. He also didn't notice the feeling of fatigue as he pushed himself out of the water.

Satori came flying down from a tree, immediately saying, "_What happened? He's not moving!_"

Doumeki coughed a little water out and said, "It's... fine..."

"_What? This is fine? He's pale as a ghost for Clow's sake!_" The bird squawked. There were more questions that he was about to spout when he noticed what the human was doing.

With one ear to Watanuki's unmoving chest, he listened for a heartbeat. It was very slow but it was there. Doumeki ripped Watanuki's wet shirt apart and began pushing the center of Watanuki's chest with his cold hands. He pumped at least ten times before he leaned down to listen to a heartbeat. It was a little louder but it was still slow.

He tilted Watanuki's head back gently and lifted Watanuki's chin slightly. Pinching the other's nose and sucking in a breath, he put his mouth to Watanuki's and blew. Watanuki's chest rose slightly but there was nothing else. Doumeki tried again, waiting at least a few seconds between each breath.

When Doumeki began pumping his chest again, Watanuki gave a gasp and then a cough. Doumeki helped Watanuki turn himself over so that he could cough and spit out the water. Satori watched gratefully as the color came back into Watanuki's face.

The first thing that Watanuki did when he got his breath back to normal was wipe his mouth and glare at Doumeki. "Thanks a lot..!" ..._for pushing me down into the water and drowning me!_

Doumeki smirked. "No problem."

**x x x x**

With the chase done for the time being (for they had eliminated their smell through the previous swamp episode), the humans were exhausted. When they got to the place where Satori promised them medication, they were too tired to move another step and fell limply against a tree trunk nearby. Leaves crunched as they were crushed by heavy bodies.

Satori whistled for the signal for help. In a few seconds, there was a low flapping sound above them and large shadows that blocked the sun completely. There was rainbow all over by the time the forest settled down with silence. Watanuki heard Satori chirping something to the other _tetsudai tori's_ but he couldn't make it out because his mind was full of sleep. The last thing he remembered was being lifted and the wind brushing his cold fingertips.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm sorry, I had to make him drown. It makes my imagination go wild.

&& I'm losing readers but I don't really mind. I just want to finish this story =_=; **~SEi**


	9. cAUTION

**A/N: **An update! :c **~SEi**

**- - - - - - - - - - - - Ch9. cAUTION**

Watanuki woke up with a start. It had gotten _very_ warm and he was sweating as if he were in the middle of a desert. Was he? He sat up and looked around. No. No sand dunes, no stretched out horizon = no desert. Good. He sighed in relief. But then, where was he? He scanned the place. It was dark, except for a few beams of light coming from all sides.

He noticed Doumeki lying a little farther off from where he sat. He crawled over to the guy and poked his cheek. But Doumeki was awake. When Doumeki opened his eyes from the sweaty touch, Watanuki jumped back a little from surprise. "Geez. If you're awake, you should have woke me up."

"I'm tired." He closed his eyes again.

"And lazy." Watanuki frowned and folded his arms.

After a few seconds, Doumeki opened his eyes and stared hard at Watanuki.

"Wh-What?"

"You're sweating a lot."

Watanuki wiped his forehead. "I know, I know... It's a bit hot in here..." He pulled his shirt at the neck and tried to fan himself with it.

Doumeki sat up and turned his head this way and that. "Not really..." He stopped and looked at Watanuki. He frowned and then leaned over and put his forehead against Watanuki's own.

"Wh-Wh?" Surprised for the second time so far, he pushed Doumeki away. "Wh-What are you doing?"

"You're burning up."

"H-Huh?"

"You have a fever."

"Eh...?" Suddenly, Watanuki felt a little light-headed. "Ah... When did..." He drifted off and felt himself falling to one side.

"Oi!"

**x x x x**

Watanuki heard voices as he breathed in and out... in and out... in and out...

"Is he okay?"

Watanuki didn't hear nothing but silence as a reply but he heard Doumeki say back, "We were in the swamp..."

Silence.

"Alright. Thank you," Doumeki replied.

There was a sound of flapping wings and a brief breeze that lightly touched his skin. After a few moments of silence, Watanuki cautiously opened his eyes.

Doumeki, who was sitting close by, noticed. "Oi."

Watanuki frowned. "My name is not 'oi'."

"..." Doumeki ignored him. "Are you okay?"

Watanuki scoffed. "Since when have you ever been concerned about my well-being?"

"..." Doumeki ignored him again. "I'll go get something cold to put on your forehead." He got up and started to walk away.

"Hey! Are you deaf?" Watanuki called after him, but was ignored for the third time in a row. "Hmph!"

Suddenly, he felt his bed start to move. Wait... _IS this a bed?_ He sat up, holding his head when the dizziness came. When his eyes adjusted and the dizziness cleared, he was face to face with a pair of eyes.

He screamed and backed up. In doing so, he almost fell off the 'bed' he was on. He was caught from behind by something furry. He brushed it with his hands, trying to figure out what it was. He felt along with it until he couldn't reach anymore.

"Eh?"

* * *

**A/N: **I'm keeping up! Kind of :c Sorry that this chapter was short =_=; I kinda ran out of ideas. **~SEi**


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